I've been on this cleaning/organizing kick lately, and that has included, much to my horror, HUNDREDS of photos. Boxes of them. Oh, the days before you could just download them and stuff the overload into an external hard drive. Anyway, I noticed that I have so many pictures of garden gates and doors. Kind of a weird obsession, but when you think about it, an entrance (gate to the garden, door to a house, eyes to the soul, whatever) defines the experience. Just as an excellent appetizer increases appetite for the entree, a proper entrance increases excitement for what lies ahead. Below, some spectacular views from around the world.
Atop the picturesque Aventine hill in Rome, the keyhole in the door to the garden of the Knights of Malta affords a spectacular view of St. Peter's Basilica (Photo: Todd Gaynor.)
A magical "through-the-rabbit-hole" garden entrance in Chongqing, China (Photo: Peachum.com).
Austere gate into the Bishop's Garden, The National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. (Photo: Rachel Cooper).
Snowy carriage entrance to the serpentine drive at George Washington's Mt. Vernon.
